Family Night
by angellwings
Summary: Another story in my Carly series. The Evanses & The Baylors gather for Family Night. In which teasing abounds after Zeke learns something new about his little girl. Ryelsi. Zekepay. This is set three years after "Persistent"&"An Evans Family Thanksgiving"


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Family Night

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At the age of nine Carly considered herself a very lucky girl. She had lots of friends, a daddy who spoiled her rotten, and a mom who praised nearly everything she did. The only drawback seemed to be her younger twin brothers. She was seven when they were born, and they had just entered what her mom called "the terrible twos". She loved them, but they were definitely annoying at times. Not as annoying as her cousin Ella though. She had been able to take her when her aunt and uncle and her cousins had lived in Los Angeles, but they had just recently relocated to New York. Her Uncle Zeke had just opened up a new restaurant while her Aunt Sharpay had decided to act in the theatre again. She'd been offered the role of the Baker's Wife in a revival of "Into the Woods".

Her parents were currently working on a show that would pay tribute to Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in much the same way that "Mamma Mia" paid tribute to ABBA. The story would be very formulaic and similar to a classic Fred & Ginger musical, but the musical numbers would be all of the pair's best and most famous numbers.

Today was Friday, March 6th which meant it was the first Friday of the month. First Friday was family night. Aunt Sharpay and Uncle Zeke would be coming over with Emmett and Ella and they would all have dinner and watch a movie. It was usually pretty fun as long as Ella didn't pick the movie.

Carly wrinkled her nose as she thought about the movie they had watched last month. "Passport to Paris" was not a movie that Carly enjoyed. Where was the singing and the dancing? Or the explosions and car chases? Or the talking animals?

At least she hadn't been forced to watch "the Wiggles" over and over with her little brothers. It was her mom's turn to pick the movie this week, and Carly always loved the movies her mom picked out. Her mom had always said that she liked movies that were like her life: Happy and full of music. She heard her mother humming in the kitchen as she prepared dinner. Carly sat down on a stool at the breakfast bar that divided the kitchen from the living room.

"What's for dinner, mom?" Carly asked.

"Pot roast, green beans, and macaroni and cheese. How does that sound?" Kelsi asked her daughter with a smile.

"Sounds like my favorite," Carly answered with a nod.

"It's my favorite too," Kelsi smiled as she tugged lightly at one of her daughter's pigtails.

"When's daddy getting home?" She asked.

Kelsi glanced thoughtfully at the oven clock, "He should be here any minute now. I asked him to pick up some juice and some sodas."

"Soda?" Carly asked excitedly.

"Yes, soda. But don't get too excited you'll have to drink juice or water before you can have soda," Kelsi reminded her oldest child.

"I know, I know," She sighed. "Did you tell him to get Mountain Dew? That's my favorite."

Kelsi chuckled, "Yes, I asked him to get Mountain Dew for you and Diet Pepsi for me."

There was a loud crash from the living room, and Kelsi immediately began to walk toward it.

"Carly, honey, watch the food for me," She called behind her as she left. Kelsi sighed when she found her sons surrounded by their set of large wooden building blocks. She grinned in amusement and shook her head. "You boys just _had_ to dump them all out, didn't you?"

"Mommy play?" Jacob asked as he held up a block to Kelsi. She smiled and ruffled his white blond curls.

"I can't right now, sweetie. Mommy's making dinner," She told him. She watched for a few more minutes as Jonah continued to build his tower while Jacob started a tower of his own. She watched Jonah's excited blue eyes as he placed the last block on top and then shakily stood to his feet. She quirked an eyebrow curiously at him. He giggled and violently tore down the tower.

"Fell down," Jonah said as he glanced up at his mom proudly.

Jacob clapped happily, "Again!"

She laughed happily at her children, "You two are a mess."

Kelsi walked back into the kitchen and reclaimed her spot in front of the stove, "Carly, could you go watch your brothers please? I don't want them collapsing towers on each other's heads."

Carly chuckled, "Yes, ma'am."

"Thank you, sweetie," She said gratefully. She kissed the top of her daughter's head before she left. She heard keys jingling at the door, and heard the hinge squeak.

"I'm home!" Ryan called as he entered the foyer.

"Daddy!" Carly exclaimed as she hugged him.

"Hello, princess," He told her as he hugged her back tightly.

"Jacob and Jonah are playing in the living room and Mommy is cooking dinner in the kitchen," She informed him.

"Thank you," He said as he kissed the top of his daughter's head quickly. He followed her into the living room and chuckled at the sight of his twin boys surrounded by blocks.

"Daddy play!" Jonah exclaimed as he saw his father.

"Okay, just let me say hello to mommy first," He told them with a smile and a nod. He rounded the corner into the kitchen and leaned against the door frame. He smiled softly as he watched Kelsi strain the macaroni. She had come home early from the theatre to get dinner started, and to let Nina go. Nina was their neighbor who picked up the Twins from day care and Carly from school, and stayed with them until he or Kelsi could make it home.

"Hey there, good looking," He said with a smile.

"Hello to you to, handsome," She said with a chuckle as she dumped the macaroni back into the pot. He pulled her to him and kissed her temple.

"How have things been here?" He asked.

"Pretty good. The boys are in their destructive phase apparently," Kelsi snickered. "They enjoy knocking their towers down more than they enjoy building them."

"And Carly?"

"Perfect angel, of course," Kelsi said proudly. "Her homework is done, so are her chores, and she's been helping me keep an eye on the Chaos Makers in there. How did the rest of the rehearsal go?"

"It went well. I think we just need a couple more days and we'll be done with 'Let's Call the Whole Thing Off'. We should be able to start on 'Must You Dance' by the middle of next week."

"Good, that gives me plenty of time to work on the remaining arrangements," Kelsi said with a nod as she squeezed the cheese into the steaming macaroni noodles. A buzz sounded from the door as Kelsi began to stir the cheese into the noodles. "Could you get that?"

Ryan nodded and hurried to the door, and pressed the button so he could see who ever was waiting to come up. He smiled when he saw his sister staring impatiently at the screen.

"Are you going to let us up or what?" She asked.

Ryan chuckled and noticed the doorman standing behind them, "Frank, let them on up."

"Sure thing, Mr. Evans," Frank said as he dutifully held the door open for the Baylor clan.

"Zeke and Sharpay are here," Ryan told his wife as he peeked his head back into the kitchen. "They're on their way up now."

"Perfect timing," She smiled. "I just finished dinner. Could you ask Carly to set the table, please?"

Ryan nodded and walked into the living room. Carly did as she was asked, and was glad to get a break from her brothers and their constant noise. They were constantly knocking things down or squealing at the top of their lungs. There was a knock at the door and Ryan immediately let his sister and his brother-in law in. Zeke said hello to Ryan and then immediately headed for the kitchen to set up the dessert that he had brought with him. Sharpay automatically made her way to Jacob and Jonah. Ryan couldn't help but think about how different Sharpay was. He would have never pictured this moment back in high school. His sister was sitting on the carpet building wooden block towers with his twin boys. He heard Kelsi chuckle softly from beside him.

"Wondering when H-E-double hockey sticks froze over?" Kelsi asked in him in amusement.

"Not anymore, now I'm thinking about when we started saying H-E-double hockey sticks instead of the actual word," He grinned.

Kelsi rolled her eyes at him playfully. They observed the commotion silently for a while and they began to hear Emmett, Ella, and Carly talking in the dining room. Emmett had decided to give Carly a hand setting the table while Ella stood by and watched with a bored expression.

"Why are you setting the table?" Ella asked.

"Because mom and dad asked me to," Carly said as if it were obvious.

"You should do what I do. I can get out of just about anything with a pout and a couple sniffles," The twelve year old said proudly as she studied her nails.

Emmett rolled his eyes, "No you can't. Dad rarely falls for that anymore, and mom has never fallen for it. You haven't gotten out of chores in two years."

"That's not true. You had to take out the trash the other day, didn't you?"

"That's because you tricked me into thinking it was my turn that day," He huffed. "Not because of your dumb pout."

"My pout is not dumb. I'll have you know that pout got me all of Jesse Everly's valentine candy. He handed me his entire bag," Ella said with a smirk. "And I had the most valentines of any one in the entire class."

"Yeah, because you told everybody if they didn't give you one you'd pour melted crayons on the rice crispy treats Mrs. Mitchell made for everybody," Emmett scoffed.

"Well, it worked didn't it?" She asked with a glare.

"Melted crayons? Gross, Ella!" Carly exclaimed as she folded placed napkins next to the plates.

"I wasn't really going to do it," She said. "I just needed them to _think_ I would."

The phone in Ella's hand chimed and she squealed, "It's a text from Tyler!"

"Ella! Did I just hear my phone, young lady?" Sharpay called from the living room. "Are using my phone to text your friends again?"

"Mom! This is important. Tyler's birthday party is tomorrow and I needed to secure an invite!" She protested.

"Hand me the phone, Ella," Sharpay said sternly. Ella rolled her eyes.

"If you would just let me have a phone then we wouldn't have this problem," She pouted.

"We'll let you have a phone when you prove to us that you can handle the responsibility, Missy," Zeke said as he leaned against doorway between the kitchen and the dining room.

"You guys are so uncool," Ella scoffed as she walked away from them.

"I think that's the first time I've been called 'uncool' in my entire life," Sharpay said as she twirled a strand of hair on her finger.

Zeke chuckled at his wife, "And how does it feel?"

"In this situation? Pretty good," She smirked.

Zeke paused and thought about something his daughter said, "Wait a minute…who the heck is Tyler?"

Sharpay patted his shoulder sympathetically, "She's 12, babe. Who do you think he is?"

"If you say the word boyfriend-"

Sharpay chuckled, "Oh, honey, do you honestly think Tyler is her first boyfriend?"

His eyes widened, "What?"

"You remember that boy Henry that came over a couple of weeks ago?"

"The one Ella watched a movie in the living room with?" He asked.

"Didn't you wonder why I kept peeking into the room every now and then?"

"Are you saying my daughter had her first date and I didn't even realize it?" He asked in shock.

"That's exactly what I'm saying, and it wasn't really a date. There wasn't even any hand holding," She said soothingly.

"Hand holding? For crying out loud, she's not even a teenager yet and you're already talking about hand holding?"

Ryan chuckled and joined the conversation, "This is why Carly won't be dating until AFTER college, right sweet heart?"

Carly groaned, "Daaaad."

"You know if it was Emmett who had his first date _you_ would not be reacting this way," Sharpay said observantly.

"No, I'm sure he would be full of 'atta boys' if it were Emmett," Kelsi said in agreement.

"Can I leave the room before you guys talk about me?" Emmett asked as he made a face at his parents.

"C'mon," Carly said as she pulled her cousin toward the living room. "Let's go see what Jacob and Jonah are up to."

"Seriously though," Ryan said as he turned toward his wife. "Carly isn't dating until after college."

Kelsi rolled her eyes, and patted his should patronizingly, "Yes, dear."

Sharpay chuckled and started setting the table where Emmett and Carly left off, "Men are so sensitive about their little girls."

Zeke and Ryan gave each other knowing glances.

"Like it wouldn't freak you out if Emmett brought home a girlfriend," Zeke said as he rolled his eyes.

"Actually, I think that would be adorable," Sharpay gushed. "You know, when we saw Troy and Gabriella for New Years I think Emmett really hit it off with Marietta."

"Marietta is such a gorgeous girl. She looks just like Gabby," Kelsi said. "So you think Emmett liked her, huh?"

"He was definitely blushing when he had to sit beside her at dinner. It was so cute," Sharpay cooed.

Zeke sighed helplessly, "Oh, never mind! I'm gonna go finish the chocolate mousse."

"You just wait until Emmett brings home a fiancé, Shar," Ryan warned her. "Just wait."

"Oh please, I've still got at least another twelve years before that happens," She said with a wave of her hand. "You've only got three to four years before Carly brings home her first little boyfriend."

"I'm choosing to ignore that statement. It was never said," Ryan exclaimed.

Kelsi smirked, "Oh, Ryan, did I tell you that Carly brought home this massive valentine the other day that a boy in her class made for her?"

His eyes widened, "I'm not listening."

"It was this really big construction paper heart, and it had this really cute little note in it-"

"Not listening!"

The girls laughed as they watched Ryan walk out of the room.

"What are you going to do with him once Carly starts junior high?" Sharpay asked with a grin.

"No clue," Kelsi chuckled. "She has more of his personality than mine so we might one day have a very outgoing teenager on our hands."

"And with all the talent this family has…she's sure to have the boys falling all over her," Sharpay agreed with a smile.

"Do me favor and DON'T say that to Ryan," Kelsi laughed.

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_And here is yet another Carly story. I think I need to call these something other than Carly stories...I mean there are other kids involved now. Oh yeah, I added Jacob and Jonah because I think Kelsi and Ryan are a more than one kid kind of family. And if you're thinking it's unrealistic that both the Evans twins end up each having their own set of twins. It's really not. Espescially if twins run in the family, and my theory is that Derby Evans is a twin so that would mean they run in the family. _

_Anyway I hope you guys like this one. I know it was kind of random, but I had fun with it._

_Enjoy!_

_angellwings  
_


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